President Chain sets first-half record in net income

MAIN DRIVER:The convenience store operator saw the strongest contribution from its President Pharmaceutical Corp affiliate, which generated NT$202.93m in net profit

By Amy Su / Staff reporter

President Chain Store Corp (PCSC, 統一超商), the nation’s largest convenience store operator, reported a record-high net income for the first half the year on the back of stronger contributions from its reinvestments and affiliates.

The company posted a net profit of NT$4.87 billion (US$162.32 million), or NT$4.16 per share, for the first six months, up 25.44 percent from the NT$3.88 billion, or NT$3.38 per share, recorded a year ago, the company said in a statement on Monday.

In the April-to-June period, the company saw its net profit reach a record high of NT$2.3 billion, or NT$2.22 per share, compared with NT$1.82 billion, or NT$1.76 per share, during the same period last year, PCSC data showed

“The company’s strategy of adjusting store styles and focusing on its fresh-food business helped raise consolidated sales and profitability in the first half,” the statement said.

Various reinvestments and affiliates of the company also post helped raise PCSC’s profitability in the first half.

President Pharmaceutical Corp (統一藥品) generated a net profits of NT$202.93 million for PCSC in the first six months — the strongest contribution among the company’s affiliates, followed by President Transnet Corp (統一速達) and President Drugstore Business Corp (統一生活事業).

President Drugstore, which owns Taiwan’s second-largest drugstore chain, Cosmed (康是美), yesterday said the company’s sales rose by more than 10 percent in the first six months from a year earlier, with profitability in line with its internal targets.

President Drugstore — a PCSC subsidiary — saw net profits reach NT$153.49 million in the first half.

President Drugstore yesterday said it aims to raise sales of natural and organic products in the second half by launching an in-store section called the “Nature Zone” in its Cosmed outlets.

If the section is installed in 100 Cosmed outlets by the end of the year, President Drugstore could see sales in these outlets post double-digit annual growth, thereby generating higher profitability for PCSC in the near future, President Drugstore vice president Ho Chien-wen (何建文) told a media briefing.

In related news, Taiwan FamilyMart Co (全家便利商店), the nation’s second-largest convenience store operator, yesterday said its net profits in the first half of the year were NT$456.48 million, or NT$2.04 per share, up from NT$371.85 million, or NT$1.67 per share, a year ago, its stock exchange filing showed.

For the second quarter, net income stood at NT$347.83 million, or NT$1.56 per share, compared with NT$311.19 million, or NT$1.41 per share, recorded in the same period last year, statistics showed.

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